APS 1 Flashcards
Politics
the process of making collective decisions, usually by governments, to allocate public resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society
Political System
the way a society organizes and manages its politics across various levels of public authority
Institutions
rules or sets of rules or practices that determine how people make collective decisions.
Includes: passing laws, interpreting laws,
enforcing laws, counting votes and electing governments, and appointing government employees
Preferences
People’s needs and wants
Branches of Government
Congress (Legislative)
The president (Executive)
The federal courts (Judicial)
Organizations
The Internal Revenue Service
The Rules Committee in the House of Representatives
The electoral college
Political parties
Interest groups
Rules and Procedures
Simple plurality election rules
Separation of powers
Judicial review
Campaign finance laws
federal system
there are multiple levels of government with independent authority over important areas of policy. Each resident of the country is also affected by the policies of state and local governments, and by the day-to-day decisions of governors, mayors, council members, attorneys general, prosecutors, assessors, and comptrollers at lower levels of government
collective dilemma
there is a conflict between group goals and individual goals or self-interest
public good
a benefit provided to a group of people that each member can enjoy without necessarily having to pay costs for it, and for which one person’s enjoyment of it does not inhibit the enjoyment of it by others.
A classic example of a public good is clean air to breathe.
private good
a product or benefit provided to you such that your consumption of it precludes others from consuming it
free ride
will benefit from the public good while avoiding the costs of contributing to it
collective-action problem
A situation in which people would be better off if they all cooperated; however, any individual has an incentive not to cooperate as long as others are cooperating.
ex) occupy walls street
prisoner’s dilemma
An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though both would be better off if they both cooperated.
coordination problem
situation in which two or more people are all better off if they coordinate on a common course of action, but there is more than one possible course of action to take.
